I'm in a similar position to the OP, but for the most part have owned Toyota trucks my entire life. I recently owned an '05 Tacoma auto trans...Every vehicle I'd owned up to that point was a manual, but I was living in DC and dealing with heavy traffic, and decided auto was the way to go.

Fast forward a few years, and I decided it was time to trade the Tacoma in...for a new Tacoma...with a manual transimission! Oh, man did I miss driving a standard trans, and I tell you, it was like riding a bike getting back into it, no regrets at all!

Got a new 2012 Tacoma with the TRD sportshifter, and it is sweet! Hope to be able to contribute to some posts here...I've literally driven over 1,000,000 miles in manual transmission vehicles, and there really comes a point where it's just "driving" and not something you have to think about (for you newbs out there).

And believe me, I don't mean "newbs" in a bad way, I love that there are still new drivers out there learning to drive the way it was meant to be!

Welcome! Don't know I missed a previous post from you or what, but I feel like I would have remembered a TRD Tacoma... I work at a Toyota dealership and I very rarely see TRD's with a manual. Did you have to get it shipped in? Even the base Tacoma's don't show up with many manuals, though there are a few here and there.

I'm in a similar position to the OP, but for the most part have owned Toyota trucks my entire life. I recently owned an '05 Tacoma auto trans...Every vehicle I'd owned up to that point was a manual, but I was living in DC and dealing with heavy traffic, and decided auto was the way to go.

Fast forward a few years, and I decided it was time to trade the Tacoma in...for a new Tacoma...with a manual transimission! Oh, man did I miss driving a standard trans, and I tell you, it was like riding a bike getting back into it, no regrets at all!

Got a new 2012 Tacoma with the TRD sportshifter, and it is sweet! Hope to be able to contribute to some posts here...I've literally driven over 1,000,000 miles in manual transmission vehicles, and there really comes a point where it's just "driving" and not something you have to think about (for you newbs out there).

And believe me, I don't mean "newbs" in a bad way, I love that there are still new drivers out there learning to drive the way it was meant to be!

Welcome! Don't know I missed a previous post from you or what, but I feel like I would have remembered a TRD Tacoma... I work at a Toyota dealership and I very rarely see TRD's with a manual. Did you have to get it shipped in? Even the base Tacoma's don't show up with many manuals, though there are a few here and there.

Wow...just rediscovered this site after a bit of a hiatus, and going through my older posts I realize I never answered this...

I actually got really lucky...I had gone to my local dealership just to kind of browse the new (at the time) 2012 Tacoma models, and maybe inquire about the logistics of getting a manual transmission model shipped, because I knew that they didn't produce too many of them. To my surprise, there was a metallic grey TRD Sport on the lot with a 6 speed manual transmission. It was pretty much the exact model I wanted head-to-toe (though I would have been fine with a TRD Off-road as well). I had to try hard to not allow the dealer to see me how much I was salivating over it...but I probably didn't do a very good job!

After the sale, the dealer told me that they get maybe 2 or 3 manual Tacomas in every year, outside of the few that they also have to get shipped in for customers upon request...and they rarely sit in the lot for more than a few days.

PaintDrinkingPete wrote:After the sale, the dealer told me that they get maybe 2 or 3 manual Tacomas in every year, outside of the few that they also have to get shipped in for customers upon request...and they rarely sit in the lot for more than a few days.

Interesting. Usually the reason they don't order manuals to have in stock in the lot is because they're afraid they'll end up sitting on it forever. If they can't keep one for more than a few days, you'd think they'd order more, and get a reputation as the place to go when you want 3 pedals.

PaintDrinkingPete wrote:After the sale, the dealer told me that they get maybe 2 or 3 manual Tacomas in every year, outside of the few that they also have to get shipped in for customers upon request...and they rarely sit in the lot for more than a few days.

Interesting. Usually the reason they don't order manuals to have in stock in the lot is because they're afraid they'll end up sitting on it forever. If they can't keep one for more than a few days, you'd think they'd order more, and get a reputation as the place to go when you want 3 pedals.

Yes and no, Moofasa. They might only sit on the lot a few days but that doesn't mean they want to order a ton because of the reason you mentioned. Also, at least at Toyota dealerships, they don't have full control over ordering. A large chunk is "suggested" based on what sales have happened over the last ____ period. I don't know fully how it works, but I know that Toyota looks at what that dealership and the region have done and bases shipped vehicles somewhat on that.

Squint wrote:Yes and no, Moofasa. They might only sit on the lot a few days but that doesn't mean they want to order a ton because of the reason you mentioned. Also, at least at Toyota dealerships, they don't have full control over ordering. A large chunk is "suggested" based on what sales have happened over the last ____ period. I don't know fully how it works, but I know that Toyota looks at what that dealership and the region have done and bases shipped vehicles somewhat on that.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean they should order 50, but they could keep ordering one more than last time until they finally get one sitting on the lot until the next delivery (on average).

That's a bummer that they have so little control over what they receive, since they still have to pay for them.

theholycow wrote:That's a bummer that they have so little control over what they receive, since they still have to pay for them.

I don't know exactly how much control either party has but I do know the manufacturer certainly has some say in it. For example, a dealership couldn't order 200 Camries and 200 Prii for a lot that holds 400 cars.

theholycow wrote:Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean they should order 50, but they could keep ordering one more than last time until they finally get one sitting on the lot until the next delivery (on average).

Seems to me, that's a bit like continuing to throw Hail Marys just because the last one worked out.

Boston Fit wrote:Seems to me, that's a bit like continuing to throw Hail Marys just because the last one worked out.

I don't know football but I thought a Hail Mary is a crazy difficult pass that almost never works but you try it because you're out of options. Here we have something that's proven to work every time:

PaintDrinkingPete wrote:After the sale, the dealer told me that they get maybe 2 or 3 manual Tacomas in every year, outside of the few that they also have to get shipped in for customers upon request...and they rarely sit in the lot for more than a few days.

They can't keep them on the lot, they have consistent demand for them, and they have plenty of other stuff on the lot that ends up not being sold; might as well feel out the demand. If they end up with one that sits for as long as the average slushbox then they know they've found the limit and can back off their ordering.

Boston Fit wrote:Seems to me, that's a bit like continuing to throw Hail Marys just because the last one worked out.

I don't know football but I thought a Hail Mary is a crazy difficult pass that almost never works but you try it because you're out of options. Here we have something that's proven to work every time:

PaintDrinkingPete wrote:After the sale, the dealer told me that they get maybe 2 or 3 manual Tacomas in every year, outside of the few that they also have to get shipped in for customers upon request...and they rarely sit in the lot for more than a few days.

They can't keep them on the lot, they have consistent demand for them, and they have plenty of other stuff on the lot that ends up not being sold; might as well feel out the demand. If they end up with one that sits for as long as the average slushbox then they know they've found the limit and can back off their ordering.

Honestly, I think it has to do with a few things...

First, as was mentioned by someone above, the dealerships don't have total control over what arrives at their location. They have influence, I imagine, but I've known folks that have worked at dealerships, and they said mostly you just kinda get a random assortment (though not actually random, because it's based on sales trends in the area).

The dealer I had my discussion with in the previous post said that dealerships in rural areas tend to get more manual transmission vehicles than they do because it's an urban setting (Alexandria, VA, just outside of DC), and folks who have to sit in traffic everyday don't buy manual transmissions. (which I understand completely)

Second, I simply think that Toyota doesn't make that many with the manual transmission. This makes them hard-to-find among those that want one -- and thus may give an appearance of high demand -- but in all reality, probably 95%+ of customers want the automatic trans. Problem is though, that even if dealerships request them, there simply aren't that many available to ship to them.

In short, obviously if they're selling quickly off the lot, they could definitely afford to bring a few more in, and they'd probably sell pretty well too...but overall the market is small and there really isn't enough demand to increase production and ship more manual transmission models out.

Interesting stuff; thanks. Another possibility: if automatic delivers better relative profit margins, the manufacturer has a reason to use the manual platform as a price leader while restricting its availability.